Loss & When to Consider Therapy
Therapy can help you navigate the layers of trauma and attachment that accompany pregnancy loss or stillbirth. Therapy can be helpful at any point whether it is immediately after the loss or months later, especially if you notice:
Persistent sadness or guilt that interferes with daily life.
Intrusive memories or flashbacks related to the loss or medical experience.
Anxiety about future pregnancies or medical settings.
Strained communication with your partner or family.
A sense of being “stuck” or emotionally disconnected.
Therapy does not rush your healing.
It offers a safe space for your story and supports you in reconnecting with your body, your relationships, and your sense of self.
For some, sessions may focus on processing hospital memories, sensory triggers, or medical decisions.
For others, it is about holding space for talking about their baby or babies they lost, and perhaps the love, identity, and motherhood that remain even after loss.
Therapeutic Approaches That Can Help:
Perinatal Grief and Loss Therapy (PMH-C focus): Integrates grief work with trauma-informed, perinatal-specific care, honoring both the emotional and physical experiences of loss and supporting healing at every stage.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Helps address self-blame and unhelpful thought patterns that can prolong suffering.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): A trauma-focused method for processing distressing memories and body sensations related to the loss.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): Supports learning to live meaningfully with grief rather than waiting for it to disappear.
Couples Therapy: Creates space to understand each other’s grief styles and rebuild connection.
A Word of Compassion
Pregnancy loss, whether in your first, second or third trimester, is often invisible to the world, yet it transforms you.
It is okay if your timeline of healing looks different than others expect.
It is okay to still cry months later, to feel relief and guilt at the same time, or to want quiet when others want to talk.
Therapy can help you honor your loss, care for your nervous system, and learn to hold both heartbreak and hope together.
You are not broken, you are grieving. And you deserve care, tenderness, and time.
This is second article of Becca’s Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month series. The first article [Grief After Loss] discusses perinatal loss. Whether it occurs within the first or second trimester, in the final weeks of pregnancy, or in the first weeks after birth, loss shakes the very foundation of how you understand yourself, your body, and your future. It is not “just a medical event.” It is an emotional, physical, and relational experience that carries layers of meaning.
Should you need support, it would be an honor to care for you. You can book directly with Becca Hamilton | LPC, PMH-C below or click HERE to schedule a free intro call with our Clinical Advocate to discuss how MÈRE can become a part of your village.